These cemeteries are active and open to the public.
Beth Emeth Cemetery
Founded in the 1840s, this Jewish cemetery is associated with Congregation Beth Emeth in Albany; however, association with Congregation Beth Emeth was not a requirement for burial. There have been no burials here since the mid-1950s. Burial records are available to anyone.
Contact: Congregation Beth Emeth, 100 Academy Road, Albany NY 12208; 518-436-9761; info@bethemethalbany.org
Location: From NYS Thruway Exit 23, take Route 9W south. Turn left onto Route 32 (Corning Hill Road). Look for an immediate right turn onto Retreat House Road. The cemetery is on the right, on a hillside.
Bethlehem Cemetery
This cemetery was incorporated in 1865, when many private burials were relocated to Bethlehem Cemetery as the town developed. Every Memorial Day, prior to the parade, a ceremony honoring past and present veterans is conducted.
Contact: Bethlehem Cemetery, P.O. Box 456, Glenmont NY 12077; 518-439-2394; bethlehemcemetery@nycap.rr.com
Location: From NYS Thruway Exit 23, take Route 9W north. Turn left onto Delaware Avenue. Cross the Normanskill Bridge and proceed to the traffic light at the Delmar Four Corners. Turn left onto Elsmere Avenue. The cemetery is located at the intersection of Elsmere and Kenwood Avenues.
Calvary Cemetery
Founded in 1875, Calvary Cemetery is a public cemetery associated with the Roman Catholic Diocese of Albany. It was formerly the parish cemetery of St. John-St. Ann.
Contact: Albany Diocesan Cemeteries Office, 518-463-0134; Info@ADCemeteries.org; ADCemeteries.org
Location: 481 Route 9W, Glenmont 12077. From NYS Thruway Exit 23, take Route 9W south to Bethlehem Center. Continue through the traffic light. The cemetery is on the right, about three miles from the Thruway.
Elmwood Cemetery
The earliest records for this cemetery date from 1861, but the site was actually founded before then, and includes early burials from the original First Reformed Church of Bethlehem. This nondenominational Protestant graveyard is governed by the Bethlehem Rural Cemetery Association.
Contact: Bethlehem Rural Cemetery Association (Elmwood), P.O. Box 402, Selkirk NY 12158
Location: 922 State Route 9W, Selkirk NY 12158. From NYS Thruway Exit 23, take Route 9W south to Bethlehem Center. Proceed through the traffic light. The cemetery is on the left just before Church Road.
Graceland Cemetery
Founded about 1902, Graceland is actually within current Albany city limits, but its Location: was once part of Normansville. The office is open Monday through Friday from 9am to 4pm, and Saturday by appointment.
Contact: Graceland Cemetery, 680 Delaware Avenue, Albany NY 12209; 518-463-8408 •
www.graceland-cemetery.org; info@graceland-cemetery.org
Location: From NYS Thruway Exit 23, take Route 9W north. Turn left onto Delaware Avenue; cemetery is on the left.
Holy Spirit Lutheran Cemetery (Trinity)
Founded in 1884, this site began as Trinity Lutheran Cemetery and later became
St. Mark’s, before taking its current name. The changes reflect the history of this Lutheran congregation. Anyone can be buried here.
Contact: Lutheran Church of the Holy Spirit, 57 Hurlbut Street, Albany NY 12209 •
518-463-6224; holyspiritalbany@nycap.rr.com
Location: From NYS Thruway Exit 23, take Route 9W south to the traffic light in Bethlehem Center. Turn right onto Feura Bush Road. The cemetery is almost immediately on your left.
Jerusalem Cemetery
This nondenominational cemetery was incorporated by the townspeople in 1870 in what was originally part of the Town of Bethlehem. The oldest graves predate that time, as they were moved from behind the Jerusalem Reformed Church in Feura Bush, which was established in 1791. The cemetery has never been affiliated with the church.
Contact: Jerusalem Cemetery Association; jerusalemcemetery@yahoo.com
Location: 1415 Indian Fields Road, Feura Bush NY 12067. From NYS Thruway Exit 23, take Route 9W south. Bear right onto Route 32 south. Follow Route 32 to Feura Bush. Turn left onto Old Quarry Road. The cemetery is about 100 yards on the right.
Mount Pleasant Cemetery (New Scotland)
Harmanus Van Huysen was a Revolutionary War veteran who returned home to become pastor of Unionville Church from 1794 until his death in 1833. He was buried on his farm, part of which became Mt. Pleasant Cemetery in 1864. About 500 persons are buried here. Near the cemetery entrance is a monument honoring Unionville’s Civil War dead who are buried here.
Location: Route 85 in New Salem, Town of New Scotland. Call for additional directions.
Mount Pleasant Cemetery (South Bethlehem)
Founded in 1864, Mount Pleasant Cemetery did not keep written records until 1968. Until then, families had to register their own burials and mow their own lots. The land was donated to the Methodist Church of South Bethlehem by the Callanan family. Patrick Callanan, American Revolutionary soldier, is buried here. Although this is a Methodist cemetery, Methodist church affiliation is not a requirement for burial here.
Contact: Mount Pleasant Cemetery, P.O. Box 98, South Bethlehem NY 12161; 518-767-2903
Location: From NYS Thruway Exit 23, take Route 9W south through the traffic light in Bethlehem Center. Continue on Route 9W south to Beckers Corners. Turn right onto Route 396 and proceed about three miles. The cemetery is on the right.
New Scotland Cemetery
The New Scotland Cemetery Association was founded as an independent association around 1866. The Town of New Scotland was originally part of the Town of Bethlehem. Members of the founding families of New Scotland, along with six Revolutionary War soldiers, are buried here; another eight soldiers are buried in the churchyard. The cemetery is nondenominational.
Contact: New Scotland Cemetery Association, P.O. Box 265, Slingerlands NY 12159
Location: From NYS Thruway Exit 23, turn left. At the traffic light, turn left onto McCarty Avenue. At the second traffic light, turn left onto Delaware Avenue. Bear right at the Delmar Four Corners traffic light onto Kenwood Avenue. At Tollgate Restaurant, bear left onto NY 85/New Scotland Road. At the New Scotland Town Hall, turn left onto New Scotland South Road/County Route 308. The cemetery is on the left. The cemetery can also be entered behind the New Scotland Presbyterian Church on Route 85 in New Scotland.
Onesquethaw Cemetery
The Onesquethaw Cemetery takes its name from a Mohawk word meaning cornfields,* which designated the Clarksville area in the 1700s. The site was originally the Mead family cemetery, probably dating back to the 1840s. In 1867 it was incorporated as the Onesquethaw Union Cemetery Association. It is a nondenominational resting place.
*Aboriginal Place Names of New York. NYS Museum Bulletin 108. NYS Education Department, 1907.
Contact: Onesquethaw Cemetery, P.O. Box 113, Clarksville NY 12041; 518-756-9670
Location: From NYS Thruway Exit 23, take Route 9W north. Turn left onto Delaware Avenue. Cross the Normanskill Bridge and proceed to the traffic light at the Delmar Four Corners. Continue on Delaware Avenue (Route 443) for about seven miles into Clarksville. Just past the Clarksville Church on the left, turn left onto Slingerland Avenue. At the end of the street, turn left onto Tarrytown Road. The cemetery is one mile on the right.
Our Lady Help of Christians Cemetery
This Roman Catholic cemetery was founded in 1874 by Our Lady Help of Christians Church in Albany’s South End, which at that time was settled predominantly by German immigrants. The church has since closed.
Contact: Albany Diocesan Cemeteries Office, 518-463-0134; Info@ADCemeteries.org; ADCemeteries.org
Location: 41 Jolley Road, Glenmont NY 12077. From NYS Thruway Exit 23, take Route 9W south to Bethlehem Center. At the traffic light, turn left onto Glenmont Road, then turn left onto Jolley Road. The cemetery is on the right.
St. Matthew Lutheran Cemetery
This private Lutheran cemetery was founded in 1845. Access records by writing or calling the church.
Contact: Unity Lutheran Church, 1500 Western Ave., Albany, NY 12203; (518) 464-2648
Location: From NYS Thruway Exit 23, take Route 9W south to Bethlehem Center. At the traffic light, turn left onto Glenmont Road. The cemetery is almost immediately on the right, located on what is known as Glenmont Hill.
Selected resources:
Local history files at Bethlehem Public Library
- Family histories, unverified
- Cemetery records
- Records of the People of the Town of Bethlehem: Albany County NY, 1698-1880. Bethlehem Historical Society, 1982. Includes lists of burial ground inscriptions from private early Bethlehem family plots and from Bethlehem, Elmwood and Mount Pleasant cemeteries before 1932.
- Burying Ground Inscriptions, Town of Bethlehem. Compiled by Lieutenant Colonel William V. Hannay, 1934. (private family plots, closed to the public)
- Pilgrimages to the Graves of 126 Revolutionary Soldiers. Compiled by DAR Tawasentha Chapter, 1940.
- Soldiers of the Revolution — graves located by Tawasentha Chapter before 1932. Compiled by DAR Tawasentha Chapter, circa 1940.
- Assorted unverified records
Burial records held by the Town Clerk and the Town Historian
These records are located at Bethlehem Town Hall, 445 Delaware Avenue, Delmar NY 12054; 518-439-4955
- Town Clerk records include marriage, birth and death records and burial permits from 1884 to 1988 on microfilm and paper. Public access is limited by confidentiality law.
- Town Historian records include genealogy reports and documents from 1680 to 1980. They contain burial information and family papers.
- An index to Town Clerk and Town Historian records can be found at the Town Hall and at Bethlehem Public Library.
Online resources
Includes a list of private family burial grounds in Albany County (most in the Town of Bethlehem) with exact locations and the names of persons buried there.